Page 49 - DreamScapes Magazine | Winter/Spring 2026

PHOTOS: CARLOS GOUVIA/TOURISM MADEIRA
SHROUDED IN A THICK FOG THAT DRAPES THE MOUNTAINTOPS
in gauzy veils, hikers vanish into the mysterious northern slopes.
I’ve reached Fanal Forest.
Here, 800-year-old Ocotea foetens—gnarled, moss-bearded
elders—stand like time travellers. This is the Laurissilva Forest, a
UNESCO World Heritage Site. Once stretching across southern
Europe, this subtropical rainforest is a surviving remnant of an
ecosystem dating back around 20 million years. Today, roughly
20 percent of Madeira is still cloaked in its green embrace.
TikTokers can’t resist it. One twisted tree, nicknamed the Witch
Tree, has become a social media star. It’s where hikers step forward
gingerly, fog so thick you can barely see your boots. Shapes appear,
vanish, reappear. The atmosphere is so haunting that Star Wars: The
Acolyte filmed here in 2023. A new parking lot, big enough—as one
local jokes for the Millennium Falcon—now receives carloads of
curious adventurers.
“They come only because they want this,” explains Vítor Rosa,
my guide with Discovery Island Tours. He steers wide-eyed visitors
onto muddy trails and secret overlooks, sharing his island with
quiet pride.
Everyone, I discovered on a recent trip, was there for island
adventure: be it dining, marine excursions, beguiling hikes, and
gardens galore. Its high elevations rife in basalt cliffs, tumbling
waterfalls and terraced vineyards are so dramatic TikTokers have
even crowned Madeira as the Hawaii of Europe.
Situated in the Atlantic, which locals lovingly call the Madeira
Sea, and they’ll correct you otherwise, lies this postage-stamp sized
volcanic island. Part of an archipelago, there’s sun-kissed Porto
Santo, and the wild, uninhabited Desertas Islands. Closer to Africa
than mainland Portugal, Madeira teems with exotic curios from
dragon trees to Pride of Madeira flowers, and the tiny endemic
Madeira firecrest, Europe’s smallest bird. Lizards dart between cob-
blestones, and in the Laurissilva, you might even spot the elusive
Madeira long-toed pigeon.
My adventure starts before I even land. Madeira’s airport, named
for global soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, who knows how to
maneuver a ball, is perched on a short seaside runway that only spe-
cially trained pilots dare navigate. As our flight swoops in, it pulls
back for a second attempt, and when we finally touch down, applause
erupts. It’s Old Europe’s way of saying thank you for a safe arrival.
Built on a natural amphitheatre of steep hills facing the sea,
Funchal becomes my home base for nearly a week. And nothing
says Madeira quite like my first morning thrill. I’m hurtling down
the mountainside on a Monte Toboggan, squealing and gripping the
wicker sled as two men in boater hats and rubber-soled boots steer
us along steep ice rink slick streets. A tradition since the 1850s, the
ride is pure, heart-pounding fun.
Once my pulse slows, I glide up the hill by cable car to Monte
Palace Tropical Garden. Koi glide through orchid-framed ponds and
hidden sculptures peek from leafy corners, while Funchal stretches
out below.
At Palheiro Gardens, even more gasps occur. The estate famous
for its camellias belongs to the Blandy family—English entrepre-
neurs whose Madeira wine empire fueled the island’s shipping
boom. Head gardener Miguel points out magnolias, proteas and cen-
turies-old trees. The consummate expert insists I visit Blandy’s Wine
Lodge downtown, where dusty barrels slumber and tastings reveal
why Churchill counted Madeira wine among his favourite libations.
Outside Funchal, the mood shifts. Through winding roads, often
without guard rails, we off-road onto historic laneways that
resemble Madeira lace, threading the coastline with tunnels bur-
rowing through mountains. “Madeira looks like Swiss cheese,” Vítor
WINTER/SPRING 2026 DREAMSCAPES 49